Magneto-machine.



H. F. GEIST.

MAGNETO MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED MAYZZ. 1915.

1-,180,489.- PatentedApr. 25,1916.

2 SHEETS-SHEET I.

A HHMMIHHHIIL v Invenibr v I Ii fry/ 766,25?

H. F. GEIST.

MAGNETO MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 22. I915.

1,180,489. Patnted A r. 25,1916.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

17212071302" fix/r9 7766,25?)

- chines, particularly UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

HARRY F. GEIST, 0F RACINE, WISCONSIN, A SSIGNOR TO WEBSTER ELECTRIC COMPANY, OF RACINE, WISCONSIN, A CORPORATION OF WEST VIRGINIA.

MAGNETO-MACHINE.

. Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Apr. 25, 1916.

7 Application filed May 22, 1915. Serial No. 29,772.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, HARRY F. GEIST, a citizen of the United States, residing at Racine, in the county of Racine and-State of \Visconsin, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Magneto-Machines, of which the following is a full, clear, concise, and exact description, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part of'this specification.

My invention relates to magneto mamagneto machines for ignition purposes, and the object of my present invention is to produce a highly efficient current generator of the solid rotor yp I My invention consists in the provision of a novel arrangement of parts cooperating to produce a machine of extremely high efiiciency.

Various advantages of my present machine will be pointed out in detail, or made apparent, as the following description progresses.

In the drawings illustrating my invention, Figure 1 is a front elevational view of my improved magneto machine. Fig. 2 is an end view thereof, partly in section and partly in elevation, illustrating the magneto machine in operative position upon an associated internal combustion engine. Fig. 3 is a cross sectional view taken on the line 33 of Fig. 2 and looking in the direction indicated by the arrows. Fig. 4 is a fragmentary detail view illustrating the E shaped pole pieces, windings, and the rotor which cooperates therewith. Fig. 5 is a more or less diagrammatic view illustrating the rotor in the position to which it is moved by the engine driven actuator, this view illustrating the rotor in the position which it assumes just prior to being released from the engine driven actuator, and Figs. 6 and 7 illustrate other positions assumed by the rotor after being released from the engine driven actuator.

Similar characters of reference refer to similar parts throughout the several views.

As illustrated in the drawings, the framework of my herein described magneto machine comprises a pair of permanent side plates 10-10, and a pair of removable side plates 11-11 retained in position by a plu- 1 rality of screws 12*12. It will be understood that each of the removable side plates 1 1 11 serves to close an aperture in its associated permanent side plate 10, and, as will presently be pointed out, to journal one end of the rotor shaft. Clamped between the permanent side plates 1010 are oppositely disposed substantially E shaped pole pieces 1313. Each of the pole pieces 13 consists of a plurality of laminated stampings properly held in position with respect to the permanent side plates 1010 and each other by the pins 1'-i14:, in a manner well known to the art. Each of the pole pieces 13'13 is suitably stepped to receive the lower ends of horseshoe magnets 1515, as is most clearly illustrated inFig. 4. The permanent magnets 1515 are securely retained between the permanent side plates 10-l0 and in engagement with their associated pole pieces 1313 by means of end plates 1616 secured to the ends of the permanent side with a set-screw 18, as is most clearly illus trated in Fig. 2, the inner end of this setscrew serving to engage the lower end of the adjacent one of the permanent magnets 15-15.

As is clearly illustrated in Fig. 4, each of the pole pieces 1313 comprises three polar projections, the middle one of which is provided with a generating winding 19. Each of the polar projections of each of the pole pieces 13 is conformed to present a face lying in the arc of a circle having for its center a point located midway between the adjacent ends of the middle polar projections of the pole pieces 13 and in a line passing through each of the middle polar projections, all of which is clearly illustrated in Fig. 4.

Suitably journaled in the removable side plates 11 is a shaft 20 to which has fixed thereon a rotor, or inductor, 21 provided with four radial arms or prongs, as illustrated. The arms or prongs of the inductor are located 90 degrees apart. For convenience in describing the inductor I have lettered the arms or prongs as a, b, c, and d. It will be noted that the arms or prongs a and c are diametrically opposite each other, and are provided with broad face ends, the said end faces being conformed to lie in the are of a circle having for its center the axis of the rotor shaft. The arms or prongs b and d are similar .to the arms a and a in some respects, but differ essentially therefrom in that the arms or prongs b and d are provided with narrow faced extremities, as is clearly illustrated in Figs. L to 7 inclusive.

Keyed or otherwise fixed upon the left hand end of the rotor shaft (Fig. 2) is a yoke 22, which yoke is normally held in the position shown in Fig. 1 by a pair of'springs 2323, each of said springs being interposed between one arm of the yoke 22 and an outwardly projecting portion of one of the end plates'lG. The relation of the parts is such that when the yoke is in the position illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2 (normal position) the inductor 21 assumes the position illustrated in Fig. 4.

Keyed upon the right hand end of the rotor or inductor shaft (Fig. 2) is an element which provides a trip finger 24 and a tail piece 25, which tail piece, as will presently be explained, serves to actuate the spark electrodes.

The magneto machine framework is suitably mounted upon a shelf provided by an integral bracket 26, which bracket is pro- .vided with a portion 27 arranged to be bolted, or otherwise secured, to the cylinder of the associated internal combustion engine. The portion 27 also serves to support the stationary and movable spark electrodes illustrated respectively at 28 and 29.

The movable spark electrode 29 is fixed upon a shaft 30 provided at its outer end with an arm 31, provided at its free end with an adjustable screw 32 normally held in engagement with the'tail piece 25 by a spring 33 interposed between the arm 31 and a portion of the integral bracket 26. At 34 is illustrated a coiled spring disposed around the shaft 30 and arranged to oppose movement of the shaft 30 to separate the spark electrodes 28 and 29.

It will be understood-that the generating windings 19-19 are connected in series, one of the winding terminals being grounded to the magneto framework, and thence to the engine cylinder and movable electrode, the other winding terminal being connected by a suitable conductor .35 with the stationary spark electrode 28, which-is, of course, suitably insulated from the engine cylinder and the bracket 26. In dotted lines in Fig.

I have illustrated at 36 an engine driven actuator which serves to move the trip finger 24 against the action of the springs 23 and to release the trip finger.

Having now described in some detail the construction of my magneto machine, I will explain the operation thereof. When the englne driven actuator 36 is operated, the rotor is operated against the action of its associated springs 23 and is carried in the direction indicatedb'y the half arrow to the position shown in Fig. 5, When the rotor as in the position shown in Fig. 5, it will .be seen that practically all of the magnetic flux is directed through the middle polar projections of the E-shaped pole pieces 1313, and, consequently, through the windings 1919 supported by the pole pieces. The narrow faced inductor arms 6 and (1 lie midway between the adjacent unwound polar projections of the pole pieces 1313, and thus no path for magnetic flux is provided at these points. When the rotor has been moved by the engine driven actuator to the position illustrated in Fig. 5 it is released and the springs 2323 move the rotor in the direction indicated by the full arrow in Fig. 4: through its normal position past the position shown in Fig. 6 and to the position illustrated inFig. 7, after which the rotor returns to normal position, illustrated in Fig. 4. Attention is directed to the fact that while the rotor is moving past its normal position and toward the position illustrated in Fig. 6 the number of magnetic lines passing through the generatings 19-19 are undergoing a rapid change, which, due to the fact that the circuit in which the windings are located is closed, generates a current therein. generated in the windings 1919, however, builds up local magnetic fields substantially asillustrated by the small arrows in Fig. 6. It will be seen that the magnetic flux produced by the current generated within the windings 1919 cooperates with the permanent magnetic flux at the wound polar projections of the E shaped pole pieces, but opposes the permanent magnetic flux at the unwound polar projections. The several devices for operating the spark electrodes are so arranged that as soon as the rotor attains the position illustrated in Fig. 6 the spark electrodes are opened. The magnetic fields formerly produced by the current generated in the windings 1919 then die away and the permanent magnetic flux being no longer opposed by the unwound polar projections takes its natural path, as is illustrated in Fig. 7. As a result the flux passing through the wound projections drops to zero and the rapid change in magnetic lines thus produced accomplishes the passing of an ignition spark at the electrodes 28 and 29.

The current.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. A magneto machine comprising in combination with a permanent magnet, a pairof oppositely disposed E shaped pole pieces in magnetic relation to the permanent magnet, a rotor having four radial arms mounted for oscillation on an axis midway between the middle polar projections of said pole pieces and in a line passing through said middle polar projections, a generating winding on each of said middle polar projections, the arms of Said rotor being equidistant from each other, two of said arms being diametrically opposite and provided with broadfaced extremities, the other two arms being diametrically opposite and provided with narrow faced extremities, spring means tending to hold said rotor in normal position, and engine driven devices operable to move said rotor against the action of its associated spring means and to release the rotor at a position where the-broad faced arms thereof are opposite the middle wound a polar projections of the E shaped pole pieces and each of the narrow faced arms is located midway between and a substantial distance from each of the adj acent unwound polar projections.

2. A magneto machine comprising in combination with a permanent magnet, a pair of oppositely disposed E shaped pole pieces in magnetic relation to the permanent magnet, a rotor mounted for oscillation on an axis midway between the middle polar projections of said pole pieces and in a line passing through said middle polar projections, a generating winding on one of said middle 'polar projections, said rotor comprising four radial arms equi-distant from each other, two of said arms being diametrically opposite each other and provided with broad faced extremities, the other two arms being diametrically opposite each other and provided with narrow faced extremities, and

engine controlled devices operable to first 7 move said rotor in one direction to bring said broad faced rotor arms opposite the middle wound polar projections of the pole pieces and to bring each of the narrow faced rotor arms to a position midway between and a substantial distance from each of the adjacent unwound polar projections A and to then move the rotor in the opposite direction.

3. A magneto machine comprising in combination vwith a permanent magnet 'a pair of oppositely disposed E shaped pole pieces in magnetic relationto the permanent magnet," each of said E shaped pole pieces having the middle projection thereof provided with a generating winding and the other projections thereof unwound, a rotor of magnetic material having four radial arms and mounted for oscillation on an tending to retain 'the rotor in a' certain position and engine driven devices operable to move the rotor against the action of said spring means and to release the rotor at a point where each of the broad faced rotor arms is opposite one ofv the wound olar projections and each of the narrow aced rotor arms is midway between and a substantial distance from each of the adjacent unwound polar projections, the broad faced rotor arms when in the po ition last mentioned'serving to establish a magnetic circuit through the rotor and wound polar projections, the spring means associated with the rotor serving, after the rotor is re leased, to quickly move the rotor first to a position wherein the several rotor arms serve to establish local magnetic short circuits through the wound polar projections, the flux traversing said local magnetic circuits being in the same direction as the flux first directed through the wound polar projections by the broad faced rotor arms, the spring means then serving to move the rotor to a position such that eachof the rotor arms is opposite one ofthe unwound polar projections.

- In witness whereof, I hereunto subscribe my name this 19th day of May, A. D. 1915.

HARRY F. GEIST.'

Witnesses WALTER BROWN, D. A. LOEB. 

